Do Atheists have different funerals to religious people?

pgj2015 wrote: »

sounds good, most funerals i have been to spend about 2 hours talking about religion and 1 minute talking about the deceased, i prefer hearing stories about the deceased not a made up god.

I don't think you've actually been to any religious funerals at all because that's not what happens
I think that's what you IMAGINE happens at religious funerals
I think your probably a bit scared of stuff generally

ThatGeekGirl wrote: »

With that attitude why do you even bother living at all?? that makes me sad to read

I think you can believe mankind is of no real consequence or importance and still appreciate the time we have on the planet.

murpho999 wrote: »

Can't stand religious funeral stuff.
Especially things like 'Month's Mind' or anniversary masses. Just normal masses that have the equivalent of a request list read out at the end, for the usual fee of course. I don't get how people get comfort out of it or find it important.
Just seems like social conditioning caused by religion makes it happen.

I'm sure you know that it's not obligatory for you to attend any religious ceremonies at all
It looks as if you haven't been to too many "months minds" if you don't mind me saying
A family in the town where I am are getting ready for their 5 year olds months mind
The idea that her dead child is safe and healthy and happy in heaven has kept the child's mother going over these last few weeks
The months mind will further reinforce that comforting feeling
She'll be surrounded again by the whole parish all there to support her
Wether you like it or not religious ceremonies surrounding death and bereavement are a comfort to millions of people all over the world every day.
You can pretend to yourself that it's , what did you say, social conditioning? And of course your entitled to your opinion about the subject
But faith in God is s very real thing for many millions

pgj2015 wrote: »

any? I have been to many funerals, they may talk about the deceased but its always attached to the fact your faith will help you through it, I have heard priests talk about people who took their own lives in a disrespectful way at their funerals as well, made me want to walk out I was so disgusted with the priests.

Can you give me an example of how , in your opinion, a priest was disrespectful of a person who took their own life?
Also if a bereaved family choose to have a religious funeral in a religious building led by a religious person, and you choose to attend, you can't be surprised when the mourners are assured that their faith in God will help them
Honestly. What do you expect the priest to say, taking into account that the bereaved family have requested that he speak?

Mark Tapley wrote: »

I think you can believe mankind is of no real consequence or importance and still appreciate the time we have on the planet.

I like your wording on this, I guess I just thought it was a sad thought that nothing matters at all. My thoughts would be along that lines that even if you are a strict athiest (have no beliefs in anything at all, as opposed to simply being non-religious) you could find some reasoning or quality to your existence, even if simply another living being in the biosphere (is that the right term?) of life on our planet.

Asaiah wrote: »

I don't, sorry for making you sad for a moment! I have heard many of my atheist friends speak like this while at the same time rubbishing my Christian beliefs. I just wanted to see if an Atheists here thought like this.

To be honest, personally I don't believe anyone is truly an atheist (Shock horror) just in absolute rejection/denial of the truth, that there is a spirit. Theologically Christians believe all men are created beings in the image of God, and therefore have the Lord dwelling within their hearts.

I also believe that the world is a cold place and will turn a persons heart to stone so to speak, and that the spirit can become 'dead' as a result of this. As children we are spiritually alive as our hearts have not been hardened by the world and it's woes. So the world can make atheists of us all if we let it. It's sad to see so many people who chose spiritual death by following the atheist mindset.

As a Christian I want whatever will help my family see me off best. Whatever eases their grieving.

Interesting thoughts on this I don't know what I can catagorise myself as I fall somewhere between athiest, humanist and agnostic but I was brought up catholic until I was 18.

Zen65 wrote: »

+1

You can in fact believe that lives are important and of consequence, even though there's no magic man in the sky looking down on you and waiting for you to die so you can be with him.

This is what I would think - that you can find some meaning somewhere even just of your own ideals

Asaiah wrote: »

Mark Tapley wrote: »

You don't believe I exist. There's a brain twister. I am at a loss to understand why anybody would believe in your God . There are more feasible ideas in the conspiracy forum.

Clearly you exist. I think my entire message has been lost on you. I believe that atheists are people whose hearts are closed to God, but that God exists, they are merely so closed that they cannot entertain the thought. Is it so hard to understand that a Christian could believe this?

You may not agree and that's fine, I totally respect your belief.

Ken Ham is that you?

Anyway now that I've found Ken Ham, I want to add my two cents. I'm 18 so I haven't quite figured out if I want to be an organ donor or donate my body. If I did though ultimately as an atheist I'd want something similar to what Neil deGrasse Tyson suggests:

I've had to plan an atheist funeral. We had a humanist MC who basically linked all the different parts, and was really good for ideas and suggestions about things to put in the funeral.

People read poetry and explained how it linked to the deceased, people from all aspects of their life talked about how they came to know each other and shared memories of times spent together, shared what they would miss now that they were gone. Music was played and we had lots of photos of the person down through the years on show. There was also an opportunity for anyone who wanted to to stand up and say a few words.

It was so personal. People shared in our collective grief and took comfort from the stories everyone told. We all got to know them a bit better.

I've been to a lot of religious funerals, too. Many have been very personal, but many have also been quite impersonal and focused on dogma and scripture. Some of it is also left at the mercy of the priest and how much tailoring he permits...

So yes, atheists have funerals and they can be great.